Stanford School of Medicine
officials have decided to forgo current plans for the so-called
GALE project and start a new planning process whose top priority
will be to develop a first-rate education building and
library/information facilities.

The
planning team also will give a "thoughtful and critical look" to
the construction of new laboratory space, which had been a key
component of the original GALE plan, said Philip Pizzo, MD, the
incoming dean of the School of Medicine.

Pizzo's recommendation has
been approved by the school's Faculty Senate and its Executive
Committee, which includes all department chairs and top
administrators. School officials are also working with a key
medical-school accreditation agency on the new plan.

The
original plans for GALE (short for Grant, Alway, Lane and Edwards
-- the buildings that make up the medical school complex) were
approved by university trustees in October 1999 and included
construction of a new education building on the site of the
41-year-old Edwards Building. The goal was to give the school a
stronger physical identity as well as much-needed, modernized space
for classrooms, lecture halls, small group learning areas,
simulation labs, a student center and space for student
services.

The
240,000-square-foot project also called for an overhaul of the Lane
Building, including Lane Library, and renovation of portions of the
Grant and Alway buildings to provide upgraded space for research
laboratories. The project was to be built over five years,
beginning this spring.

But
Pizzo said that after consulting with many people -- including
faculty chairs, students and medical school administrators -- it
became clear that plans for the $185-million project were trying to
satisfy all interests without truly satisfying anyone. While the
project met some basic immediate needs and fit within the school's
space and cost constraints, it had attracted a notable lack of
enthusiasm and would have faced fund-raising challenges, he told
Faculty Senate members during a Feb. 22 meeting.

"We
want to be able to march forward with something that we can all
stand behind," he said.

Pizzo said he will move
quickly to form a new planning team, which he will direct. Senate
members expressed full support for his action and praised Pizzo for
taking a lead role in the project.

Eugene Bauer, MD, dean of
the School of Medicine and vice president for the Medical Center,
joined Pizzo in addressing the project at the senate meeting and
said he was "wholly supportive" of the move to discontinue the
current plan.

"(The project) attempted to
meet a multiplicity of needs," Bauer told senate members. "It
became the project people loved to hate because it did not have
enough for everyone."

Pizzo said the school will
consider some "interim fixes" of laboratory facilities so that
programs can continue to grow and faculty recruitment can move
forward. He said this could involve upgrading the 52,000 sq. ft. of
laboratory space vacated by the move of some programs to the new
Center for Clinical Sciences Research building. Among the
departments most immediately affected by the project change are
surgery, neurology, neurosurgery, medicine and pathology, he
said.

"We
hope everyone will make an accommodation for the greater good of
the school in the long run," he said.

Pizzo also reviewed the
status of the GALE project with the school's Executive Committee on
Feb. 23. The committee unanimously voted to recommend the
termination of the GALE project while supporting a priority for
renewing education and library facilities. In addition, Pizzo held
a "town hall" meeting with medical and graduate students, who also
supported the new direction.

On
March 1, Pizzo and Michael Hindery, senior associate dean for
finance and administration, met with a representative of the
Liaison Committee on Medical Education in Washington, D.C., to
request an extension of time for the planning and construction of
new education and library/information facilities. In past reports,
the LCME -- the accrediting agency for medical schools -- has cited
inadequacies in the current education and library buildings that
must be addressed for Stanford to maintain its
accreditation.

Pizzo said the meeting with
the LCME representative was helpful and productive. Although final
approval will require a review by the full LCME, Pizzo said he
stressed the importance of new education facilities in achieving
the vision for the future of medical and graduate student
education. He added that Stanford will proceed expeditiously with
plans to focus on new education and library/information
facilities.

The
new plan is welcome news to several groups who had expressed
displeasure with the evolution of the GALE project. In November,
eight student leaders wrote to Bauer, saying they believed the
latest designs for the project would not be adequate to serve the
school for another 40 years. The students said they were concerned
about classroom seating and learning space -- particularly in the
case-based learning laboratory.

"...(We are) certain you
agree that if it is worth doing this project, it is worth doing it
right," the student representatives wrote.

Faculty Senate members, who
took up the issue at their Dec. 13, 2000, meeting, echoed the
students' concerns. The senate passed a resolution questioning the
adequacy of the plans for the new education building and
recommending that the project not go forward in its current
design.